Hi gang. I know some of you have done lots of busking while travelling; my busking experiences have been almost entirely in the places I've lived. So as I'm planning this long busking tour (see "Hey Americans, can Marion visit you?"), there are a few things I'm wondering about.

Do you think it's worthwhile to find out ahead of time what the local bylaws are for each town, or do you just start playing and see what happens? On the one hand, trying to communicate with city bureaucracies is a pain, and I've found that even if you're technically supposed to have a licence, you don't really need one if nobody cares enough to enforce it. On the other hand, since I'll be in a foreign country most of the time, I'm a tiny bit concerned that a chat with the cops might turn into a chat with the INS.

How do you choose which towns to go to? My plan is just to aim for towns that are the same size as towns I've had good luck in before - or where I have some reason of my own to be interested in the town. Do you think it's worthwhile to try to time your arrival with local special events? And do you have any tips on finding a good spot in a strange town as efficiently as possible?

How do you manage your time when you need to busk to raise funds, but have ground to cover and touristing to do too? Do you find yourself some kind of normal daily rhythm (like busk in the morning, have fun in the afternoon, drive to next town in the evening?) Or would you stay in one place as long as the sun was shining, then travel as long as the rain was falling? Obviously the timing strategy will vary significantly from person to person, but I'd be very interested to hear how other people have done it.

Anything else that you think I should know about touring as busker would be welcome, of course. For what it's worth, I'm a solo, unamplified fiddler. I don't do banter or a bottling routine, I just stand there and play tunes.

Thanks, Marion